Miami Heat: Who Stands To Gain The Most With DeJon Jarreau Gone?

The Miami Heat killed the offseason. They continued to do that after the draft and even without a draft pick to their name.

Bringing in a ton of undrafted free agent talent, they brought in a few guys that immediately stood out from the rest as well. DeJon Jarreau, NCAA Tornament star with Houston, was one of the guys that you just knew would be something special in the Miami Heat’s developmental system.

Though he got off to a rough start in the NBA Summer League California Classic portion, he would eventually get going as the team traveled to Las Vegas. He was definitely showing why he was a guy worth monitoring and why he was well on his way to earning a two-way slot from the Miami Heat .

Then, on Saturday, it happened. It was reported that Jarreau opted for a more guaranteed situation.

While, likely, ahead in the race, the Miami Heat had yet to officially offer him a two-way deal. The Indiana Pacers took advantage of that lack of movement and made him an offer.

He accepted. While that is a tough blow to the Heat, for a guy that could have been really good with them, you have to move on.

The Miami Heat lost a really good player in DeJon Jarreau. In needing to move on, who stands to gain the most with his departure?

With that, who stands to gain the most from his departure? On the surface, it would have to be Javonte Smart.

Not only did he show some good things during his time with the Miami Heat in the summer circuit, but he actually is pretty close to DeJon Jarreau in physical profile and skillset. A big guard, though an inch shorter than Jarreau at 6’4″, he is more the scorer than Jarreau is.

While both have a ton of pure aspects to their games as point guards, Jarreau is a better defender right now, where Smart again has a more natural scorer’s feel. Smart’s weakness is the fact that he knows he can do so much, often letting that get him in trouble with sticky situations.

If you had to make an off the cuff the comparison, he has a lot of Chauncey Billups to his game, though he can get his shot off a bit easier than Billups could due to mechanics. If he can be as half as successful as Big Shot was at doing so though, then that’s what would make him great.

Again, this isn’t calling him that… or saying he will ever be, it’s just that he has a lot of that to his game. That and Deeky’s departure, are also why he stands the most gain in this scenario.